As of 2023, corporal punishment is legal in 19 states in the United States. These states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. However, the rules and definitions of corporal punishment vary from state to state. For example, in Texas, teachers are permitted to paddle children and to use "any other physical force" to control children in the name of discipline; in Alabama, the rules are more explicit. It is worth noting that the use of corporal punishment in public schools has been declining since the late 1970s, and less than 0.5% of all school children were subjected to it as of 2018. Additionally, some states that allow corporal punishment in public schools have banned it in child-care settings, foster care homes, and juvenile detention centers.